West Chicago resident Anni Holm was recently appointed chairperson of the City’s Cultural Arts Commission by Mayor Ruben Pineda, with the consent of the City Council. Her extensive background in the arts will be utilized to advance the projects of the Commission, of which she has been a member for the past six years.
The Commission was responsible for several major art-related successes last year under the leadership of past chairperson Buddy Plumlee, and is poised to continue building momentum for elevating the reputation of West Chicago as a serious arts destination through some exciting new projects and programs.
“We are extremely fortunate to have people in our community that bring passion, energy, expertise and often times impressive and accomplished backgrounds to these volunteer appointments. Anni Holm and former chairperson Buddy Plumlee, are two such people”, said Mayor Pineda.
Taking the reins
Anni Holm is a conceptual artist working in photography, installation, performance, and collaborative art. Born in Randers, Denmark, she attended Krabbesholm Højskole in Skive before she immigrated to the US in 1999. She graduated with a BFA in photography from Columbia College Chicago 2004. Currently an Artist in Residence at Durkin Park School through Chicago Arts Partnership in Education (CAPE), and the Director and Curator of People Made Visible, she has organized various multimedia art exhibitions including artXposium and an International Artist in Residency in West Chicago, IL where she resides.
Holmes extensive resume includes an artist residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, and she has been a Featured Artist during Chicago Artists Month and a Break Out Artist in Newcity. She has performed and exhibited her work at various locations nationally including Ohio University Gallery, Ohio; Waterloo Center for the Arts, Iowa; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota; Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, New York; Space 301, Alabama; Bridge Art Fair, Miami; Danish Immigrant Museum, Iowa; along with the Glass Curtain Gallery, Hyde Park Art Center, National Museum of Mexican Arts, Chicago Cultural Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, all in Chicago.
Internationally she has been an exhibitor at the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Denmark, Hafnarborg Institute of Culture and Fine Art, Iceland, Amos Andersons Konstmuseum, Finland, Ljungbergmuseet, Sweden, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway and La Casa Encendida, Spain.
Setting the bar
West Chicago resident Buddy Plumlee stepped down as chairperson, but will remain an active member of the Commission. Plumlee is an artist who works primarily in acrylics, watercolor, mixed media and oils. He studied painting and art history at Scuola Lorenzo de Medici in Florence, Italy, and graduated from the University of Iowa with an MFA in painting.
A member of West Chicago’s Gallery 200 since 2011 when he also joined the Commission, Plumlee has worked in scenic painting for theater. Since 1999, he has owned his own business, BPS Decorative Finishing and Murals.
A Look Ahead
Plans for future projects of the Cultural Arts Commission include the 2014 Community Banner Art display on Main Street, a new community art-sharing event named Artéculture which previews on May 16, 2014 during Local Music Night and the following day from 9:00 – 3:00 p.m. at Blooming Fest, and a possible new public art project. Other members contributing to the Cultural Arts Commission are Angelo Trapani, Heide Morris, John Keeney, Lew Achenbach, Mandy Rakow, Sara Phalen and Rosalinda Delgado.
